When we look around our homes, sheds and garages we see an array of objects that spring to life with the click of a button or twist of a knob, and, most of the time, do exactly what we want them to. But how on earth do these objects work? What exactly happens when you pull the lever on a petrol lawnmower? How many individual pieces are involved in getting a spinning blade to spin fast enough to mow your lawn?
If you really want to understand what something is then you have to understand how it works, and James May, presenter of The Grand Tour, is the man to help you find out. In this terrifically zany book, James tells us how to assemble our most beloved objects from scratch and see what it takes to actually get these things to work.